Caprock Group LLC Acquires Shares of 25,216 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 25,216 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,860,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $463.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $117.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $459.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.05. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Evercore lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.68.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.